A Milford, Ohio, animal rights organization has filed a complaint with the
U.S. Department of Agriculture alleging mistreatment of research animals at the
University of Kansas Medical Center.

Stop Animal Exploitation Now said in a release Tuesday that the complaint was
based on internal records from KU Med indicating “several primates may have died
of dehydration due to equipment malfunctions, while others received inadequate
veterinary care, with euthanasia being withheld unjustifiably.”

KU Med spokeswoman Stephanie Sharp questioned the utility of the complaint,
saying the university has been working “very, very closely” with the USDA to
address deficiencies noted by the agency.

“We don’t know what more we can do,” she said.

A KU Med spokeswoman was not immediately available for comment.

KU Med said in December that it had spent $700,000 on renovations to its Lab
Animal Research facilities and recruited a Princeton University scientist for a
newly created position as executive director of the lab.

It said it took the steps in response to deficiencies uncovered in a spring
inspection by the USDA.